Yesterday, a hobbled, disfigured website emerged from my labors. Today, he stands proud and complete! Okay, not exactly bursting at the seams with content, but nevertheless, http://www.printablefakecash.com/ is now somewhat justified to have that domain name.
I spent a bit today working on content to upload to it. That was ... not easy. Abiding by all laws regulating the reproduction of bank notes, I spent a lot of time distorting the dollar bills, watermarking them, and formatting them into easy-to-cut worksheets (obviously destroying all originals at the end). The end product looks simple, the work was anything but.
Still, now I have enough content to justify linking the eHow article to the website. What's that really mean? Well, no more shunting out my hard-earned traffickers to fill the lines of somebody else's pockets. Instead, they will *hopefully* be directed toward content that I own 100%. Now, I've done all the meta tags, keywords, and SEO optimizing that a man can do without reading a book on it. The next big challenge will be trying to get my poor little website to crawl up the food chain in Google's search results.
That...might be the most complicated part of all. Maybe time to hit the library...
Showing posts with label eHow Earnings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eHow Earnings. Show all posts
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
July So Far
July has been quite an interesting month so far. Gigs have slowed down for my job and main source of income, but internet revenue has picked up. We're still talking small, "don't quit your dayjob" type figures, but it's interesting nevertheless.
Even though I've only written two new articles for eHow, the Google indexing of my old articles must have finally caught up. Everyone talks about your eHow revenue taking roughly a month to catch up to it's full potential, and that's what I'm seeing right now. My July revenue as of yesterday (halfway through the month) is up to $36.00.
What's this mean? Well, I may have already surpassed my goal of $69.00 for my gym membership fees!
The main problem, here, is that I lack diversification of income streams. If eHow decides to stop paying their writers, which they can do at any time, my online revenue would be slashed in half, and my passive income revenue would be virtually nothing, and I'd be stuck with gym fees all over again.
My plan is to count my blessings but not waste any time: eHow is a great service, but not one to depend on at all. Every month I get paid from them I'll consider myself lucky (here's hoping their writer's compensation program lasts another ten years!), but still looking for other, more dependable sources of income. I'll still write a few articles here and there, as they come to me, but I can't afford to put 100% of my effort into them.
I have a couple ideas for decent money generating websites. Stay tuned!
Even though I've only written two new articles for eHow, the Google indexing of my old articles must have finally caught up. Everyone talks about your eHow revenue taking roughly a month to catch up to it's full potential, and that's what I'm seeing right now. My July revenue as of yesterday (halfway through the month) is up to $36.00.
What's this mean? Well, I may have already surpassed my goal of $69.00 for my gym membership fees!
The main problem, here, is that I lack diversification of income streams. If eHow decides to stop paying their writers, which they can do at any time, my online revenue would be slashed in half, and my passive income revenue would be virtually nothing, and I'd be stuck with gym fees all over again.
My plan is to count my blessings but not waste any time: eHow is a great service, but not one to depend on at all. Every month I get paid from them I'll consider myself lucky (here's hoping their writer's compensation program lasts another ten years!), but still looking for other, more dependable sources of income. I'll still write a few articles here and there, as they come to me, but I can't afford to put 100% of my effort into them.
I have a couple ideas for decent money generating websites. Stay tuned!
Monday, June 29, 2009
June Online Revenue Wrap-Up
June 2009 Online Revenue
It's been a while since my last post, and I thought I'd recap on this month's internet revenue (a la Smart Passive Income Blog, though not nearly as impressive...)
Adsense: $1.56
To be honest, I wasn't expecting to make any money from my blogs. I have a pretty good understanding of how competitive the blogosphere is, so I've kept my expectations low. Very low. Believe it or not, $1.56 is encouraging! Considering how neglectful a blogger I've been, I think I'll ramp up my efforts in this sphere.
Adsense earning, for me, is akin to the adorable Ikea basil seedlings we have by the window. Not enough to eat yet, but plenty of room to grow! (Assuming Boston ever gets any tiny bit of sunshine this summer ever)
eHow: $45.26
My eHow earnings have finally caught up with the all the work I've put into them, this has been a wonderfully encouraging month for eHow revenue. My Printable Fake Money article continues to be the star performer, pulling in exactly $9.99 this month! Equally encouraging, though, are a number of articles that have hit the $1 - $3 range of earnings. If I can keep those up, I'll hit my goal of eHow paying for my $69 gym membership in no time.
Amazon Associates: $65.99
Crazy performer, right! Well, I kind of cheated. I've referred my family to several products that I knew they were interested in buying, so the money I've generated on Amazon isn't from random internet traffic, nor has it been "passive." Still, if you know someone who is interested in eBooks - get them on the Kindle! Amazon rewards associates generously with a 10% commission on all books and the Kindle unit itself. Since this is a first-party product of Amazon's (the only product they make themselves, I believe) they can afford to be generous with the commission kickback.
eBay: $54.00
eBay continues to be a sporadic but excellent source of online revenue for me. Rather than recycling old laptops we come across on the job, we refurbish & sell them online. This month saw only one laptop sale, but as I write this, I am in the process of posting 3 more units. I expect this revenue to at least triple for July.
Pinecone Research Surveys: $9.00
That's right, online surveys, the biggest frauds out there. Well, I'm proof that that's not entirely the case. Some of them are legit. Pinecone Research, apparently, is a highly reputable one. It does involve some sacrificing of privacy: you need to give them your mailing address (where they'll send your checks) and name, but that's about it.
So far I haven't noticed any new junk mail from giving them my mailing address. All I get are checks in the mail (already cashed them, they're real). Their surveys take about 10-15 minutes to complete, they'll ask your opinion on certain new products, whether you would buy it, whether you like it's ad campaign, etc. It's actually kind of fun, and each survey rakes in $3. Supposedly they are hard to get into - you have to click on a banner ad to become a member, you can't simply do it through their site - but some clever Googling will give you a page with the banner ad.
For me, at this point in my life, 10 or 15 minutes in the comfort of my home is definitely worth $3.
Total June Earnings: $175.81
Those are my earnings so far, and I feel pretty great about the whole venture. My online revenue story has been one of extremely tempered expectations: no, it won't pay for my rent (yet) or get me a new car (drool).
But, it's more productive than playing video games (not to say I abstain from that entirely), and gives me something to get a little OCD about. Not to mention, thinking about all the monthly expenses we voluntarily take on these days, it's nice to have a hobby that reverses the trend. Expect some exciting things to come from this blog, as I detail the hits and many misses of making money online (the Digital Underclass way).
Monday, June 15, 2009
My eHow Earnings
A pretty encouraging sign so far: my June eHow earnings jumped from around $14 dollars, to $16.26 the next day, then $17.56 the day after that (without writing anything new). So, I've already surpassed my initial goal of $30 a month ($1/day) and it looks like I'll hit closer to the $40 /month mark.
What does this really mean? Well, for now I'll just think of it as a way to take the edge off my monthly $65 gym fee. $25 a month feels a lot more reasonable! If I can double my monthly eHow earnings, I'll be able to have a gym membership covered and do all my laundry every month, all courtesy of eHow's writer compensation program.
My Printable Fake Money article continues to steamroll all of my other articles, hitting $4.28 for the month so far. Sure, it's not quite a $400 monthly article like Writergig somehow managed, but I'll take it. If I can just write ten more articles like that, they'd earn as much as my library of 47 articles is pulling in now.
Time to do a little more SEO research ...
What does this really mean? Well, for now I'll just think of it as a way to take the edge off my monthly $65 gym fee. $25 a month feels a lot more reasonable! If I can double my monthly eHow earnings, I'll be able to have a gym membership covered and do all my laundry every month, all courtesy of eHow's writer compensation program.
My Printable Fake Money article continues to steamroll all of my other articles, hitting $4.28 for the month so far. Sure, it's not quite a $400 monthly article like Writergig somehow managed, but I'll take it. If I can just write ten more articles like that, they'd earn as much as my library of 47 articles is pulling in now.
Time to do a little more SEO research ...
Sunday, June 14, 2009
How To Make Printable Fake Money
From My Collection of eHow ArticlesBelieve it or not, the keyword search "How To Make Printable Fake Money" has a massive search volume on Google. Why?
Well, I remember playing with printable fake money in grade school, so the hopeful part of me assumes that people want to print this stuff out for lesson plans (basic math and fiscal responsibility!) The sad truth is that there are probably some geniuses out there thinking they can make counterfit bills from their HP Deskjet (gotta love recession-era innovation). This might explain the first few zero star ratings my article received (sorry, dudes, it's not an article about counterfitting).
Anyways, as my article notes, this is for educational purposes only! The bills are one-sided, and have the watermark of COPY.
This particular article immediately skyrocketed to my number one most viewed and most money-generating eHow article (beating articles already 2 months old), bringing in $3.33 in just 1/2 a month - well on its way to the $4/month per article target of Writergig's eBook How To Earn Passive Income On eHow.
By bostontech, eHow Member
How to Make Printable Fake Money
Printable fake money is a great engaging way to teach kids about commerce, responsibility, and even math! Free money templates are available online, where you can print play money for your children or students.
Difficulty: Easy
Things You'll Need:
* A color printer
* Thick, "resume" paper
* Paper-cutter
There are many websites offering free printable fake money, but we'll stick with the most popular and easy one: www.moneyinstructor.com. You can get the direct link from the "Resources" section of this article. From there, you'll find .pdf templates for $1, $5, $20 and $100 bills. Save all of these templates somewhere easy on your computer (My Documents or the Desktop).
Step 2
Next, load your printer with the thick, white or grey resume paper. Print off one sheet of each currency per child (each sheet will have four pictures of the bill on it).
Next, using either scissors or a paper-cutter, cut out the money pictures from each sheet. For a more authentic look, use a gluestick to paste two bills back to back (so they're double-sided).
Once you have all of the bills ready, you can play different games to teach about math and spending. Set up "shop," with pricetags on various things (box of pencils, a stereo, food). Ask your child or student: if you wanted X, Y and Z, could you afford it?
Tips & Warnings
* For an even more in-depth lesson, print out enough money for you (the "shopkeeper"), so when your child pays for something you can give back change
* There are also templates for coins on this website, but you could always just use your change jar for that
* Consider holding a "sale" at the shop with 50% off to teach about percentages
* This article is for those seeking to print play money to educate; these money templates are obvious fakes (watermarked with the words COPY) and attempting to actually spend them is a crime
Resources
Raising Money Smart Kids: What They Need to Know about Money and How to Tell Them
Money Mammals DVD
How to Live Off Passive Income
Photo Credit
Monday, June 8, 2009
Making Money While I Sleep (Or Don't Sleep)
It's been a pretty hectic week, with my girlfriend and I moving into our new place and me having the stitches taken out of my hand. Unfortunately I still have a splint and am forced to type at 50% speed. Once I found out I could get by without the painkillers, I forced myself to stop cold turkey. Maybe it was a harsh choice (you're apparently supposed to taper down), but to be honest I just really wanted a cold beer - I'd gone four weeks without a drop and was craving some ice cold, delicious Dead Guy Ale (I got a Growler of this stuff for my birthday - and haven't been able to drink it yet). We spent the sunny Saturday afternoon putting together an Edward Hopper puzzle by the windowside and sipping on yummy cold beers. No regrets!
Still, after only taking Percocet for three weeks, would you believe that I am actually going through some withdrawal?
The first day of no Percocet meant, basically, a dark black depression. I recognized this chemical imbalance as a side effect of withdrawal, and did my best to simply sleep it off.
Then came stage two of withdrawal: insomnia! I have had four action-packed days of unpacking into our new apartment, constructing huge piles of Ikea furniture, and wandering about Boston for hours on end - and yet I can't really sleep a wink. Hopefully this will subside soon...
The good news: my side projects continue to bring in revenue. The top reason I know I can live off passive income is because I'm a miserly pro at keeping my overhead costs low, real low. From the look of it, I stand to make anywhere between $20 and $30 this month in eHow earnings, with an additional $10 - $15 from affiliate marketing programs. And that's if I stopped writing new eHow articles and stayed at my current post count - 44.
My goal is to get my eHow earnings, and other passive online revenue, to pay for my overpriced gym membership - $69 a month. Yes, I know it's highway robbery (and I'm supposed to be an expert on saving money on gym fees). But the gym is one block away from me and is just a great, huge facility.
That's all for now, check back soon!
Still, after only taking Percocet for three weeks, would you believe that I am actually going through some withdrawal?
The first day of no Percocet meant, basically, a dark black depression. I recognized this chemical imbalance as a side effect of withdrawal, and did my best to simply sleep it off.
Then came stage two of withdrawal: insomnia! I have had four action-packed days of unpacking into our new apartment, constructing huge piles of Ikea furniture, and wandering about Boston for hours on end - and yet I can't really sleep a wink. Hopefully this will subside soon...
The good news: my side projects continue to bring in revenue. The top reason I know I can live off passive income is because I'm a miserly pro at keeping my overhead costs low, real low. From the look of it, I stand to make anywhere between $20 and $30 this month in eHow earnings, with an additional $10 - $15 from affiliate marketing programs. And that's if I stopped writing new eHow articles and stayed at my current post count - 44.
My goal is to get my eHow earnings, and other passive online revenue, to pay for my overpriced gym membership - $69 a month. Yes, I know it's highway robbery (and I'm supposed to be an expert on saving money on gym fees). But the gym is one block away from me and is just a great, huge facility.
That's all for now, check back soon!
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